


fear no fate

by tinyjet7



Series: higher than soul can hope [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Piercings, also truffles, but still, that's because zoro's injured, zoro and sanji talking about their feelings instead of fighting about it, zoro's self-sacrificial dumb ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26765131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyjet7/pseuds/tinyjet7
Summary: sanji and zoro have always been friends, but the kindness in their relationship is something new.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro & Vinsmoke Sanji
Series: higher than soul can hope [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943023
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84





	fear no fate

**Author's Note:**

> again, title from e.e. cummings' **i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]**. anyways if it sounds like i have no idea what i'm talking about, it's because i definitely only did a cursory google search, got confused and gave up.

It'd been almost three weeks since Sanji and Zoro had transformed from adults to children and back again. The Straw Hats were anxious for a chance to stretch their legs away from each other, so they docked the Sunny at the next island they came across.

It was spring on Teddy island, and the grasslands were lush and green, dewy from the island's recent rains. High cliffs surrounded its small southern harbor, and the rest of the island was farms and grassland, aside from the forest on its northern side.

Luffy ran off as soon as they docked, Sanji on his tail, to explore the market. Jinbei and Brook volunteered to stay on the ship, as they'd begun discussing some bit of musical theory that went way over Zoro's head.

Zoro jumps over the railing and onto the dock, startling Nami and Usopp as they walk down the gangplank. He grins. "I'm gonna go find a drink."

"Oh god," Usopp mutters under his breath. Zoro raises an eyebrow. "I mean, have fun, Zoro!"

Zoro laughs and waves them off as he stalks into town. It's a small village, with a handful of stores. He passes Sanji and Luffy, browsing the grocery store, and ducks into the tavern.

It's nearly midday, and the place is mostly empty. Zoro takes a seat at the bar, tossing some coins onto the counter.

"You're new around these parts," the bartender, a portly middle-aged man, notes. Zoro nods.

"Ship stopped to resupply," he grunts, unsure if the town will protest being visited by a group of pirates, especially ones as notorious as they've become. The bartender hums curiously and hands him a tankard of beer.

"Well, don't buy the truffles from Matthew," the man laughs. "He'll charge ya an arm and a leg for 'em. He don't much like outsiders, but the rest of us'll take your coin well enough."

"Truffles?" Zoro asks. The bartender nods.

"A kinda fancy mushroom," he explains. He reaches under the bar and puts a small, round object the size of an infant's fist onto the counter. "We got a lot of 'em around the forest. Looks a little funny, but I've heard any chef worth his salt'd be glad to cook with 'em."

Zoro grins, draining his cup. "Which way?"

That's how Zoro finds himself an hour and a half later, crawling on the forest floor. The area is cool and damp with plenty to find. He gathers little, golden-colored mushrooms and takes a few larger, fan-like white ones and a handful of small, dark truffles.

* * *

"He hasn't come back yet?" Sanji asks, grimacing. It's been several hours since they'd disembarked, and the rest of the crew was relaxing on the deck. Nami shakes her head. They walk together into the galley, where he drops his bags onto the counter. There had been some great ingredients in the market, fresh veggies and a short-grain rice he hadn't seen since they'd been to the Sabaody Archipelago.

"You know how he is, Sanji," Nami sighs. "Probably got lost the second his feet hit the dock. I was hoping to leave tonight. Will you?"

"Of course!" he chirps. For once, there are no complains, just his usual dramatic flourish as he skips out of the galley and off the ship. It's strange, Nami thinks. Like they've slipped into some alternate universe where Sanji and Zoro are no longer constantly at each other's throats. Since they'd been turned into children, something changed. Even their bickering had taken on a fonder tone. She watches Sanji leave and, with another sigh, turns to put his groceries away.

It's a small island, for which Sanji is grateful. The village is tiny, with maybe twenty families, most of whom tend the farms that dot the landscape. Unfortunately, it takes the better part of an hour for Sanji to determine that Zoro had definitely wandered off towards the far end of the island.

It takes another twenty minutes of walking to reach the forest.

"Marimo?" Sanji calls, reaching the tree line. He hadn't thought to change before he left, so his nice dress shoes and the hems of his slacks were soaked with mud. He didn't want to have to trek through the forest and ruin them more. "Hey! Zoro!"

There's a rustling from one of the nearby bushes. Sanji creeps over, curious. They'd be eating a lot of fish on their way to the next island, and some small creature would break the monotony a little. He leans forward, hoping to catch it off guard, when something jumps out and collides with his face.

"Shit," Sanji wheezes. He clutches at his now bruised nose as Zoro finds himself on top of the bush he'd been crouched under. "What the fuck, I thought you were a rabbit or something!"

Zoro shifts the mushrooms to cradle them in one arm, rubbing tenderly at his head with the other. He opens his mouth to ask if Sanji is okay, but the cook is quickly distracted at the bundle he's carrying.

"Are those mushrooms?" he asks. "Where did you find them?"

"In the forest, dumbass," Zoro says. He dusts loose leaves and dirt off his clothes, embarrassed as Sanji leans in closer to see. "What did you think I was doing out here?"

"Aside from getting lost and having a nap in the bushes?" With a triumphant grin, Sanji picks up the largest truffle and inspects it. "Oh, this is a good one! I just bought the perfect ingredients, too. I'll make you something good."

Zoro nods and lets him lead the way through the fields. Somehow, it doesn't take quite as long as he thinks it should have.

"I wasn't gonna buy any," Sanji admits as they make it back into town. The Thousand Sunny looms in the distance, Luffy and Usopp waving at them from the crows nest. "That asshole at the shop was charging way too much."

"Oh, Matthew, right?" Zoro asks. Sanji's one visible eyebrow raises.

"You know him?" Sanji asks. Zoro shakes his head.

"Nah, the bartender said he doesn't like strangers. He's the one who told me where to find the mushrooms." He peers down at the mushrooms and grins. "Guess he was right."

They walk up the gangplank and see most of the crew, gathered and discussing something quietly.

"There a problem?" Zoro asks. He gestures at Sanji, who takes the mushrooms from him.

"A ship," Robin says. "Brook's gone to investigate."

* * *

"Only one ship," Brook says. "A barque, flying a navy flag."

"Probably hoping to catch us off guard and sink us before we know what's going on," Franky says with a laugh. "Too bad they're not strong enough to take us on."

"Considering its size, there won't be enough soldiers to take us on in a fight," Jinbei agrees.

"Probably some small fry hoping to make it big with a sneak attack," Zoro says. "What do you want to do, Luffy?"

Luffy's grin is answer enough.

"No surprise there," Nami sighs. She glances up, considering. "Weather seems clear, and it'll probably stay that way. If we catch this wind, I'd give it maybe twenty minutes before we're in range."

True to form, Nami's prediction is right. The sky stays clear as they glide quickly across the harbor. Once they're in view, turning to meet the navy ship, the marines start to scramble.

"Like ants at a picnic," Robin comments, which sends Luffy and Usopp howling at the image.

"How do you want this to play out, Captain?" Brook asks once he's calmed down.

"I wanna fight!" Luffy says immediately. He's vibrating with excitement; they haven't seen any action for three weeks.

"You have too much energy," Nami scolds. "Take Sanji and Zoro with you, Franky and Usopp can manage the Sunny's weapons if we need them."

Luffy whoops, stretching his arms out to wrap behind Sanji and Zoro before launching the three of them across the water.

"I'm too old for this," she mutters.

"Sanji and Zoro are both older than you," Usopp comments. He gets an elbow in his side for his trouble.

* * *

The three of them skid across the deck. Zoro draws one sword and spins it through three men, launching them towards Luffy, who dumps them into the ocean. Like setting off an alarm, more marines burst through the cabin onto the deck. Cackling wildly about ants, Luffy bounces directly into the fray, launching one man back through the door and cracking it into pieces.

The steady rhythm of battle is a familiar one. They take their time, and Zoro almost relaxes. There's the heat of Sanji's fire at his back and Luffy's excited shouting somewhere ahead of him. Zoro swings through another marine when something catches his eye.

Just beyond the wreckage of the cabin door, a woman kneels behind a a fallen table. She lines her gun up just as a flash of fire brushes by Zoro's ear.

With a bitten off curse, he throws himself sideways, ice-cold horror coursing through his veins as the woman pulls the trigger.

There's a sudden, sharp pain in his left arm. He pushes through it, sprinting towards the woman as she frantically reloads. He feels a vicious satisfaction at the plain terror on her face before he knocks her out cold with the flat of his blade.

He watches her crumple to the ground into a growing puddle of blood. He watches as it gathers and pools on the floor, dripping from somewhere nearby. He tries to lift his left arm and realizes he can't. He looks over and watches blood pouring thickly out of the bullet hole, gushing with every beat of his heart.

He looks up and makes eye contact with Sanji, who pales.

"Shit," Zoro slurs. His legs buckle and give way beneath him. He's pretty sure he hears Sanji calling for Luffy before everything fades away.

* * *

Sanji doesn't remember much of what happens in between.

He looks up, mid-battle, and sees Zoro's face, ghost-white in the wreckage of the cabin.

He shouts for Luffy, who launches himself and Zoro back to the Sunny.

The deck burns, charred flesh and blood tainting the smoke as Sanji wrecks the marines' ship.

Nami and Jinbei are shouting orders, plotting their course frantically to put time and distance between them and the marine ship's possible reinforcements.

Chopper grabs Usopp, needing his steady hands, and then Franky, the only member of the crew with Zoro's blood type.

The ship runs smoothly through the dark. Teddy Island is already on the horizon, the marine ship burning like a setting sun. The time they spent there feels like a dream, like it happened to someone else. It feels like minutes since Sanji and the rest of the crew took up their silent vigil outside of the infirmary. It feels like days.

Finally, the door opens. Everyone scrambles to their feet as Usopp emerges. His hands and clothes are covered in blood, and there's a dark, wet smear of it glimmering in the light of the full moon above them.

"He's okay," Usopp says. He falls to his knees with a shaky breath. Nami and Sanji are there immediately to steady him as he tries to stand, Robin's hands appearing to support him from behind. "He'll be down a while but, uh, he'll be okay."

The crew crowds the now-open infirmary doors. Zoro's still and quiet on the bed, pale but _breathing._ His bare chest and shoulder are wrapped in pristine white bandages, stark against his tanned skin. Chopper sits on the chair next to the bed, bloody and shaking with fatigue as much as relief. Franky kneels next to him, murmuring quietly.

"He needs to get some rest," Franky says. There's no trace of his usual good humor; he scoops Chopper up into his arms and the crew parts to let him through.

"I'll stay," Sanji volunteers. The near palpable relief has them all drawn and haggard. "You guys rest."

"Are you sure?" Robin asks. Sanji musters up a smile.

"Of course. It's just the marimo, and he isn't going anywhere any time soon," he says. There are scattered nods and murmurs of assent as the crew slowly files back out. "Get Usopp and Chopper cleaned up and in bed, they need it."

Once everyone's gone, Sanji collapses into the recently vacated chair. He rubs a hand over his face like he can scrub away the exhaustion and anxiety before glancing around the room. There's a pile of rags on the floor, crusted over with blood. On the counter are suturing needs and syringes and a pile of bandages, soaked through with blood. He uses his foot to push an empty bin closer to the counter before gingerly picking up the bandages and dumping them in.

Underneath the bandages is a single, dark bullet, still shiny with blood. It's so small, a tiny thing that terrified his entire crew. A small hunk of metal that soaked Usopp and Chopper in Zoro's blood as they struggled to save him. Sanji takes it and tosses it into the bin and resists the urge to be sick all over it. Instead, he picks up the pile of rags on the floor and covers it until he can no longer see it.

He's washing his hands of the blood - of Zoro's blood - when there's a knock. Luffy walks in, and it pains Sanji to see how tired and anxious he looks. Luffy glances over at Sanji before sitting in the chair next to Zoro.

"Chopper says the bullet hit an artery," he says quietly. "I don't know what that means, but he lost a lot of blood."

"We're lucky Franky has the same blood type," Sanji says lowly, nodding. He watches rubber fingers ghost along the top of the bandages. He knows that Luffy, like himself, is wishing that he could take Zoro's pain, experience it himself to let Zoro rest easier.

Much like Zoro did for Luffy, so long ago.

He steps up behind the chair, putting his hand on Luffy's shoulder. A meager comfort, but all he has to offer his captain. "He'll wake up soon. Nothing keeps this idiot down for long. He'll be shoving us aside to get to his weights in an hour."

"You're not wrong," Zoro rasps. He opens his eye, but it's a struggle to see them, even more for him to focus. "'M sick of lying in bed, get me out of here."

"You dumb ball of seaweed, you stay right there," Sanji says. He puts a hand on Zoro's chest as he tries to rise. It's a sign of how hurt Zoro really is that for once, he acquiesces and settles back into the pillows. "Luffy, you make sure he _stays right there."_

Sanji doesn't wait for a response. He rushes out of the infirmary and glances around wildly. Luckily, the best person for the job is standing at the railing nearby.

"Robin, Zoro's awake. Can you?" She nods and swings her hands up towards her chest. Sanji hears her voice echo from several places around them, speaking quietly to the crew as they rush back to Zoro.

* * *

"We're lucky Luffy got you back in time," Chopper sobs the next morning. He's sitting on Zoro's bed, face buried in his lap. Zoro pats him awkwardly on his head, which only prompts the doctor to cry harder. Almost unintelligibly, Chopper wails, "You need to rest!"

"Okay," Zoro says quietly. The crew had come in and the room had exploded with noise just an hour ago; Jinbei had to send them out on double watches just to keep them out of Chopper's way.

The silence is deafening as Chopper hops off the bed, shifting into his heavy point form for the fingers. He gently unwraps the bandages to examine the wound. They're sticky with old blood, but Chopper proclaims the bleeding stops. He cleans and rewraps Zoro's shoulder before launching into a rapid-fire series of questions about how Zoro is feeling. He finishes with, "How did this happen?"

Zoro doesn't say anything. Chopper frowns. He shifts back as he hops into the chair.

"I saw you notice the sniper," he admits. "I was watching from the crow's nest. You looked up and froze, but you didn't go forward. You went sideways."

"Yeah. I saw her."

"So why?" Chopper asks.

"The cook didn't." Zoro glances at the door before continuing. "There wasn't time to move or warn him. If I went after her instead, it would have caught him in the back."

A thousand scenarios run through Chopper's head. A bullet in the spine, in the lungs, in the heart, in the head. Sanji, paralyzed. Sanji, dead. Sanji bleeding out on the deck, vital organs mangled and torn—

"He's fine," Zoro interrupts. Chopper sniffs. "This was the best case scenario. This is how it's supposed to be. We won the fight and no one's hurt except for me. Right, cook?"

"No," Sanji says. The door swings open to reveal him, a thunderously angry expression at odds with the moutwatering smell emanating from the tray he's holding. Chopper hops up, blue nose twitching. Sanji smiles down at him. "Better get to it before Luffy does."

Needing no more prompting than that, Chopper rushes out the door. Sanji sets the tray on Zoro's lap before claiming the chair for himself. A plate of seared scallops and a risotto with the truffle's he'd found the day before make up the main part of the meal, along with a small bowl of thin broth and another full of salad. There's even a mug of Zoro's favorite green tea.

Zoro digs in right away, suddenly ravenous. While he's occupied, Sanji says, "You getting hurt is not a best case scenario, ever."

"Better me than you," Zoro retorts through a mouthful of risotto. Sanji grimaces at him, so Zoro swallows before continuing. "It's my _job_ to make sure the crew is safe."

"Not at the risk of your life," Sanji insists. Zoro puts his fork down and looks him in the eye.

"The crew already lost you once, and they were devastated," he says lowly. "I wasn't going to let that happen again."

"Do you even realize how stupid you sound right now?" Sanji argues. "Losing you would hurt them, too! Losing you would hurt _me,_ too! Did you even stop to think how we would feel if you died out there?"

"If I died out there, the crew could move on," Zoro says. "The crew can survive without me. I've made my peace with dying."

"You think I haven't?" Sanji shouts. "We all know how dangerous it is out there. Stop trying to throw your life away!

Look, I get that you want to protect us. But dying out there? Sacrificing your dream for us? That's not the way to do it," Sanji finishes, more quietly. He sighs before pulling out a cigarette. He lights it and takes a deep drag, holding the smoke in his lungs. When he speaks again, the smoke obscures his face. "I don't wanna tell you how to live your life or anything, moss-head, but we need you here."

Zoro turns back to his food and finishes eating in silence as Sanji blows smoke rings up towards the ceiling. When he finishes, Zoro pushes the tray aside and settles back against the pillow.

"I got scared," he says finally. "If I made the wrong move, there wasn't exactly a high chance you'd survive."

"You think I wasn't?" Sanji retorts, but there's no heat left in his voice. "I looked up and saw you collapse into a pool of your own blood. If Luffy hadn't been able to rocket you guys back to the Sunny in time, I'm not sure you would have lived. Shitty way to end a friendship, marimo."

Zoro laughs.

"Tell you what. I'll be more careful if you will," Sanji says. "I'll look out for myself more, but you gotta do the same. I don't wanna turn around and see you bleeding out again."

"I'm not the only self-sacrificing idiot on this crew. I've got an idea, though."

"Oh yeah?"

* * *

Zoro's out of bed a week later. It's a week earlier than Chopper had been hoping for, but with multiple assurances that he'd take it easy on training, Chopper agreed.

Franky drops off their tools in the galley the next morning, and Sanji sets to sterilizing them according to their doctor's instructions. He places them on a clean towel on the table just as Zoro arrives and takes a seat.

"Nervous, cook?" he asks. Sanji shakes his head as he takes a seat, close enough that their knees are touching. Zoro chuckles. "Don't worry. It's pretty quick, and you're only doing the one."

He picks up a hollow needle and inspects it carefully. With his other hand, he takes a cork and holds it gently behind Sanji's earlobe.

"Ready?" he asks. He punches through the delicate skin of Sanji's ear without waiting for an answer. Sanji muffles a curse with his fist. "Sorry. It's easier if you aren't expecting it. Can't tense up."

He takes a thin, silver stud and places it into the front end of the hollow needle still hanging in Sanji's ear. Franky clearly thought he was being funny when he topped it with a tiny emerald. Zoro tugs gently, removing the needle to leave the stud in its place. He slips the back of the earring on quickly before it can fall out.

"Done," Zoro announces. He dips a small wad of cotton into the bowl of warm salt water that Sanji had prepared. He swipes it around the earring, cleaning the front and back of his earlobe. It should be weird to have Zoro so close to his face, Sanji thinks, but somehow it feels normal. A product of all their shouting at each other, he supposes, though it does seem a little more intimate than their arguments. Zoro shifts, turning his head for Sanji to reach his own ear. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Sanji takes the second needle, similarly hollow, and positions it in the cartilage above his other piercings. It doesn't break through as easily as the one Zoro did, but the skin breaks cleanly. He slips the end of one earring, a small golden ring, into the needle and tugs it through. He closes it and cleans it, mimicking Zoro's own actions. When he's finished, he leans back and sighs deeply. "Done."

Zoro adjusts the ring, twisting it carefully. Satisfied, he looks Sanji in the eye and says, "Thanks."

"For what?" Sanji asks. He watches, mesmerized by the new flash of gold as Zoro tilts his head.

"For doing this. You didn't have to." There's a slight, embarrassed flush to his cheeks. Sanji grins.

"Just remember the promise you made," he says. He pokes Zoro gently in his uninjured shoulder. "No more sacrificing yourself for us."

"You, too," he says, glancing at the little green jewel in Sanji's ear. "Keep yourself safe."

**Author's Note:**

> oh god okay please do not follow the example of these two idiots, find a reputable professional to do your piercings for you if you do not have the proper tools or any experience with piercing!! make sure everything is clean and sterile!
> 
> anyways follow me on [tumblr](http://sa-vunin.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/irassal).


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